The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic displays, and more particularly to selectively blocking content on transparent electronic displays.
Advances in materials technology have produced substantially transparent conductors, electrodes, and luminescent materials. These materials can be combined to form, among other devices, substantially transparent organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In one example of a transparent OLED, a transparent layer of electroluminescent material is disposed between a transparent anode and a transparent cathode. Depending on the specific material, electroluminescent materials can emit, for example, one of red, green, and blue light. Accordingly, OLEDs having appropriate electroluminescent materials can be arranged on a substantially transparent substrate to form a substantially transparent, full-color OLED display. In general, OLEDs emit light omnidirectionally. Consequently, a person can view content from either side of a transparent OLED display. Transparent OLED displays, in addition to any other form of substantially transparent electronic displays, are referred to as transparent displays hereafter. While transparent displays necessarily include, among other things, anodes, cathodes, electroluminescent materials, and conductors that reflect, refract, or absorb light to various degrees, a transparent display generally permits a user to see through inactive portions of the display.
In general, a transparent display can be used in any application for which a conventional, opaque display is suitable. Transparent displays, however, can also perform functions that opaque displays cannot. For example, some augmented reality systems include transparent displays to provide users with the capability to overlay information about their surroundings on their real-world views of their surroundings.